Laryngeal examination in thyroid and parathyroid surgery: An American Head and Neck Society consensus statement

This American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) consensus statement discusses the techniques of laryngeal examination for patients undergoing thyroidectomy and parathyroidectomy. It is intended to help guide all clinicians who diagnose or manage adult patients with thyroid disease for whom surgery is indicated, contemplated, or has been performed. This consensus statement concludes that flexible transnasal laryngoscopy is the optimal laryngeal examination technique, with other techniques including laryngeal ultrasound and stroboscopy being useful in selected scenarios. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: 811–819, 2016     

External‐beam radiotherapy for differentiated thyroid cancer locoregional control: A statement of the American Head and Neck Society

The use of external‐beam radiotherapy (EBRT) in differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) is debated because of a lack of prospective clinical data, but recent retrospective studies have reported benefits in selected patients. The Endocrine Surgery Committee of the American Head and Neck Society provides 4 recommendations regarding EBRT for locoregional control in DTC, based on review of literature and expert opinion of the authors. (1) EBRT is recommended for patients with gross residual or unresectable locoregional disease, except for patients <45 years old with limited gross disease that is radioactive iodine (RAI)‐avid. (2) EBRT should not be routinely used as adjuvant therapy after complete resection of gross disease. (3) After complete resection, EBRT may be considered in select patients >45 years old with high likelihood of microscopic residual disease and low likelihood of responding to RAI. (4) Cervical lymph node involvement alone should not be an indication for adjuvant EBRT. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: 493–498, 2016     

Surgical management of the recurrent laryngeal nerve in thyroidectomy: American Head and Neck Society Consensus Statement

“I have noticed in operations of this kind, which I have seen performed by others upon the living, and in a number of excisions, which I have myself performed on the dead body, that most of the difficulty in the separation of the tumor has occurred in the region of these ligaments…. This difficulty, I believe, to be a very frequent source of that accident, which so commonly occurs in removal of goiter, I mean division of the recurrent laryngeal nerve.” Sir James Berry (1887)     

American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery consensus statement on laparoscopic adjustable gastric band management

BackgroundLaparoscopic adjustable gastric band (LAGB) management continues to be an important part of many metabolic and bariatric surgery practices.ObjectivesTo replace the existing American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) LAGB adjustment credentialing guidelines for physician extenders with consensus statements that reflect the current state of LAGB management.SettingASMBS Integrated Health Clinical Issues Committee.MethodsA modified Delphi process using a 2-stage consensus approach was conducted on LAGB management. Thirty-four consensus statements were developed following a literature search on a wide range of LAGB topics. A 5-point Likert scale was implemented to measure consensus agreement with a Delphi panel of 39 expert participants who were invited and agreed to participate in 2 rounds of Delphi questionnaires. Consensus was set a priori at 75% agreement, defined as the proportion of participants responding with agreement (i.e., 4 or 5) or disagreement (i.e., 1 or 2) on the Likert scale.ResultsConsensus was reached on 74% (25 of 34) of the LAGB management statements. In Delphi round 1, 95% (37 of 39) of the participants responded to 34 consensus statements; 21 of the statements (62%) met the 75% criteria for consensus. Thirty-one participants (80%) responded in round 2, shifting the agreement on 4 more statements to the 75% threshold.ConclusionThe ASMBS consensus statement on LAGB management is intended to guide practice with current evidence-based knowledge and professional experience. The ASMBS is not a credentialing body and does not seek to guide credentialing with this document.     

喉返神经的显露在甲状腺癌根治术中的意义

目的探讨喉返神经的显露在甲状腺癌根治性手术中的意义。方法回顾分析2003年7月至2006年12月间186例主动显露喉返神经的甲状腺癌根治手术病例资料。结果186例甲状腺癌均施行甲状腺全切或近全切除术。术中均成功显露双侧喉返神经,其中1例右侧非返喉下神经。喉返神经永久性损伤1例,暂时性损伤1例,永久损伤率为0．54％。结论甲状腺癌根治术中应常规在甲状腺下动脉周围寻找喉返神经,主动显露喉返神经不仅可减少喉返神经损伤的发生率,并可提高甲状腺癌手术的彻底性。     

Current UK management of locally recurrent rectal cancer

Aim The study aimed to determine current UK practice in the management of locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC). Method An electronic based survey was sent to UK based Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland members to establish current management in this patient group. A total of 188 questionnaires were sent out to consultant surgeons in a total of 105 colorectal units. Results Seventy‐nine consultants from 69 units responded, giving an overall response rate from consultants of 42% and from colorectal units of 66%. In all, 688 patients were managed by multidisciplinary teams in the 12 months prior to the survey. Seventy‐four (94% of responders) surgeons had experience of operating on patients with LRRC. Fifty‐nine (74.6%) operated on one to three per year and four (5%) operated on more than 10 patients per year. Central and anterior recurrences were most commonly undertaken locally, with most complex recurrences being referred to a tertiary centre. Forty‐seven (61%) surgeons worked to an algorithm. Conclusion A small number of specialist units in the UK manage the full spectrum of LRRC but the majority of patients are managed in small volume centres. The survey provides a snapshot of current activity in the UK and may provide a stimulus for discussion about how to expand and improve the care of a technically challenging group of patients.     

Current management of locally recurrent rectal cancer

Aim A review of the literature was undertaken to provide an overview of the surgical management of locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC) after the introduction of total mesorectal excision (TME). Method A systematic literature search was undertaken using PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Cochrane databases. Only studies on patients having surgery for their primary tumour after 1995, or if more than half of the patients were operated on after 1995, were considered for analysis. Studies concerning only palliative treatments were excluded. Results A total of 19 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Locally recurrent rectal cancer still occurred in 5–10% of the patients and was a major clinical problem, due to severe symptoms and poor survival. In most studies, 40–50% of all patients with LRRC could be expected to undergo surgery with a curative intent and of those, 30–45% would have R0 resection. Thus, only 20–30% of all patients with LRRC would have a potentially curative operation. The postoperative complication rate varied considerably, from 15 to 68%. The rate of re‐recurrence varied from 4 to 54% after curative surgery. The 5‐year overall survival varied between 9 and 39% and the median survival between 21 and 55 months. Conclusion Compared with previous studies, the proportion of potentially curative resections seems to have increased, probably due to improved staging, neoadjuvant treatment and increased surgical experience in dedicated centres, which has resulted in a tendency to improved survival.     

Surgical treatment of locally advanced thyroid cancer

Eighty-four patients with locally advanced thyroid cancer treated during the period from 1965 to 1989 were studied in order to evaluate the appropriateness of radical surgery. There were 57 patients who underwent palliative surgery (palliative group) and 27 patients who underwent radical surgery (radical group). Forty-six of the patients in the palliative group and all 27 in the radical group were aged 40 years or more. The survival rates as analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method revealed no significant difference between patients aged 40 or more in the palliative group and those in the radical group. The control of local disease, however, was much more difficult in the palliative group. From the view of survival rates, the superiority of radical surgery could not be demonstrated, but radical surgery did control local neck disease better. In the palliative group, the survival rate of patients aged under 40 was significantly better than that of patients aged 40 or more. It may thus be better to avoid radical surgery in patients under 40 if it would result in a severe deterioration in their quality of life.     

甲状腺癌术后早期残留甲状腺再次手术中喉返神经监测的作用

目的探讨术中神经监测术在甲状腺癌术后5~15天行残留甲状腺切除术中的应用,对术后血清甲状腺球蛋白、喉返神经及甲状旁腺功能的影响。方法回顾性分析中山大学孙逸仙纪念医院甲状腺外科2010年1月至2016年12月甲状腺手术的患者资料,对符合纳入标准的病例进行分析,并根据术中是否使用神经监测术分为神经监测组和非神经监测组,统计分析术后暂时性及永久性喉返神经损伤性声音嘶哑、暂时性及永久性甲状旁腺功能低下发生率、术前及术后血清甲状腺球蛋白(Tg)浓度。结果符合纳入标准患者435例,其中神经监测组227例、非神经监测组208例。神经监测组平均术前血清Tg浓度为18.66±2.3 ng/mL,非神经监测组平均术前Tg浓度为17.43±1.4 ng/mL,差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。非神经监测组8.67%(18/208)患者出现暂时性声嘶,神经监测组2.2%(5/227)患者出现暂时性声嘶,有统计学差异(P0.05)。非神经监测组1.92%(4/208)患者出现永久性声嘶,神经监测组0.44%(1/227)患者出现永久性声嘶,无统计学差异(P0.05);非神经监测组18.75%(39/208)患者出现暂时性甲状旁腺功能减退,神经监测组7.49%(17/227)患者出现暂时性甲状旁腺功能减退,有统计学差异(P0.05);非神经监测组1.92%(4/208)患者出现永久性甲状旁腺功能减退,神经监测组0.88%(2/227)患者出现永久性甲状旁腺功能减退,两组比较没有统计学差异(P0.05)。非神经监测组术后1月平均Tg浓度为2.82±0.2 ng/mL,神经监测组术后1月平均Tg浓度为1.37±0.2 ng/mL,有统计学差异(P0.05)。非神经监测组45.06%(94/208)患者术后1个月平均Tg浓度小于1 ng/mL,神经监测组67.4%(153/227)患者术后1个月平均Tg浓度为小于1 ng/mL,有统计学差异(P0.05)。结论残留甲状腺切除术中应用术中神经监测术可降低喉返神经损伤及甲状旁腺功能低下发生率,提高残留甲状腺组织及癌组织切除的彻底性,可将初次术后残余甲状腺手术的"窗口期"由5天延长至15天。     

Algorithm for safe and effective reoperative thyroid bed surgery for recurrent/persistent papillary thyroid carcinoma

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to review our experience with reoperative thyroid bed surgery (RTBS) for recurrent/persistent papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), and present an algorithm for safe and effective RTBS. METHODS: This is a retrospective study. Records of 33 consecutive patients who underwent RTBS for recurrent/persistent PTC in a previously operated thyroid bed, and were operated upon by the senior author (R.P.T.) July 2001 to January 2006 were reviewed. Reports of the pre- and post-RTBS serum thyroglobulin (TG) levels, the high-resolution thyroid bed ultrasound examination, pre-RTBS FNA cytopathology, as well as the post-RTBS final histopathology were reviewed. Recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) monitoring was used for all patients. Reports of the intra-RTBS condition of the RLN and any reported surgical complications were reviewed. In addition, reports of the pre- and post-RTBS fiberoptic laryngoscopy as well as pre- and post-RTBS serum calcium levels were reviewed. RESULTS: In our study, 33 consecutive patients underwent RTBS for recurrent/persistent PTC with or without lateral neck dissection. In 30 patients, recurrent/persistent PTC was suspected because of rising serum TG levels, interpreted in conjunction with serum anti-TG-antibody titers by the endocrinology service at our institution. Three patients had serum anti-TG antibodies and their disease was detected and FNA confirmed by a regularly scheduled surveillance ultrasound examination. All patients underwent pre-RTBS high-resolution thyroid bed ultrasound examination and FNA for all suspicious masses. All patients had FNA-confirmed PTC in the thyroid bed. All patients had detailed diagrams localizing areas of FNA-confirmed PTC in the thyroid bed provided to the surgeon. In all study patients, post-RTBS histopathologic findings confirmed sites of recurrent/persistent PTC determined by pre-RTBS US guided FNA. All RLNs (53/53) that were at risk were successfully identified. In 3 patients, the RLN was electively resected because of the envelopment by a large paratracheal mass or tumor densely adherent to the RLN insertion point at the cricothyroid region. There was no incidence of unexpected RLN injury, permanent hypocalcemia, or any other surgery-related complication. Post-RTBS serum TG levels were significantly decreased or undetectable in most patients (2 patients had concurrent lung metastases), when compared with pre-RTBS levels. No patient exhibited thyroid bed recurrent/persistent PTC in the post-RTBS period based on semiannual high resolution neck ultrasound examination with a median follow-up of 2 years. CONCLUSIONS: Safe and effective RTBS is based on a multidisciplinary approach that enables the identification and localization of recurrent/persistent PTC. The surgical algorithm for RTBS described, provides a pathway that all endocrine-head and neck surgeons can comfortably utilize to treat this complex and challenging patient population.